When President Trump launched a Washington scandal by firing his FBI director, he knew just whom to blame. It wasn’t his own decision-making, of course. Instead he blamed “the bipartisan condemnation of his action on the failures of his embattled and overworked communications team,” reports the New York Times. The paper says Trump has grown so frustrated by some members of his team that he is considering “the most far-reaching shake-up of his already tumultuous term.”
Who could go as part of this shake-up? Press Secretary Sean Spicer is on the list, of course, and Trump has told allies that he wants Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle to take his place. The president also isn’t happy with his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and his communications director, Michael Dubke.
In a reflection of how seriously Trump is considering getting rid of his communications staff, a senior communications official reportedly called “a network of supportive cable TV surrogates to gauge their interest in joining the team,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
Trump didn’t help tamp down speculation that Spicer could be sent packing when he refused to say that he would be staying in the job. During an interview with Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro, Trump refused to say yes or no when he was asked point-blank whether Spicer will continue in his post. “He’s doing a good job, but he gets beat up,” Trump said. Pirro then asked whether Spicer would be around in the future, Trump simply said that he had “been there from the beginning.”
